Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/527,479

POSITIVE ELECTRODE ACTIVE MATERIAL, METHOD FOR PRODUCING POSITIVE ELECTRODE ACTIVE MATERIAL, AND SOLID-STATE BATTERY

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Dec 04, 2023
Priority
Dec 27, 2022 — JP 2022-210673
Examiner
RHEE, JANE J
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Toyota Motor Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
969 granted / 1127 resolved
+26.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
29 currently pending
Career history
1150
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
79.0%
+39.0% vs TC avg
§102
15.2%
-24.8% vs TC avg
§112
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1127 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 1. Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) as being anticipated by Sugiyama (US20210119207). As to claim 1, Sugiyama discloses a positive electrode active material in which a layerO3 having a crystal structure of an 03-type structure and a layerO2 having at least one type of crystal structure selected from the group consisting of an 02-type structure, a T#2-type structure, and an 06-type structure are alternately laminated (paragraph 0027), wherein a volume of the layerO2 with respect to a total volume of the layerO3 and the layerO2 is 0.1 or more and 0.6 or less (paragraph 0050). As to claim 2, Sugiyama discloses the same active material desired by applicant there it is inherent wherein an average value of intensities at all midpoints between two adjacent peaks with respect to an average value of all peak maximum intensities in an intensity profile obtained by integrating respective pixel values in a direction perpendicular to a c-axis in a high-angle annular dark- field scanning transmission electron microscope image with an electron beam incidence direction being set as <1-10> is 0.05 or less. “Products of identical chemical composition can not have mutually exclusive properties.” A chemical composition and its properties are inseparable. Therefore, if the prior art teaches the identical chemical structure, the properties applicant discloses and/or claims are necessarily present. In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658(Fed. Cir. 1990) As to claim 3, Sugiyama discloses a solid-state battery comprising the positive electrode active material according to claim 1 (paragraph 0063). As to claim 4, Sugiyama discloses a method for producing a positive electrode active material, the method comprising: ion-exchanging Na contained in a compound represented by the following Formula 2 with Li: Formula 2: NacMnx-pNiy-qCoz-rMp+g+rO2 wherein, in Formula 2: c,x,y,z,p,q and r are numbers satisfying 0.82 <c,x+y+z=1, and 0<p+q+r0.20, and M represents a metallic element selected from the group consisting of Li, B, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Ga, Zr, Nb, Mo and W (paragraph 0025). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JANE J RHEE whose telephone number is (571)272-1499. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (10-6:30). Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Miriam Stagg can be reached at 571-270-5256. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JANE J RHEE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1724
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 04, 2023
Application Filed
Jun 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12665183
ION-CONDUCTIVE SOLID AND ALL-SOLID-STATE BATTERY
2y 9m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12665221
ION-CONDUCTIVE SOLID AND ALL-SOLID-STATE BATTERY
2y 9m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12658511
ALL SOLID SECONDARY BATTERY, ALL SOLID SECONDARY BATTERY STRUCTURE AND PREPARATION METHOD FOR ALL SOLID SECONDARY BATTERY
3y 4m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Patent 12658542
RIVETING STRUCTURE OF ELECTRODE TERMINAL, AND SECONDARY BATTERY, BATTERY PACK, AND AUTOMOBILE COMPRISING SAME
3y 3m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Patent 12651789
Battery Cell and Manufacturing Method Thereof
3y 6m to grant Granted Jun 09, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+12.4%)
2y 9m (~1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1127 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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